The Social Craftsman
by jadestone45
Summary: A Joe one-shot.


SocialCraftsman

A Joe One-shot!

A regular stretch to get the tensed up muscles working in your body again. This is what usually happens after a hard days work on the farm. You are , and you had just enrolled in a farm enrichment thing about half a year ago. You had met most everybody, from the sweet Nina, to the rather odd Dan. And Dan really was odd… (-Turkey gobble noises-)

The person you had really become friends with was Joe, a craftsman at the local building shop. He was an apprentice, along with his brother Kurt, for Woody. He was very kind when you first moved in. You can still remember everything…

_"Nng, that's the last of it…" You waved goodbye to the kind moving people and looked back at your house. Pretty small, but it was bigger than your apartment back home. You sighed as you looked in at the boxes that were piled, three to a stack. You had a long day ahead of you._

_You were trying to pull down a box that was piled on top of some others. "Ah, don't tip…don't tip…"_

_"It's gonna tip!" Came a quite annoying screech from outside. Temporarily confused, you turned to see who was yelling at you, and the box fell onto you. Luckily it was just clothes and not something hard. Whoever had confused you was rolling on the ground laughing by now._

_"Ahaha! That was fun!" This time you were able to look over, seeing a fairly dark boy with a red headband. His eyes were very angular and he looked like some guy you really wouldn't like._

_"Dan, leave her alone…" Came another voice to the right of you. Walking up to the house was a boy with brown hair seized by an American flag bandana. He lightly pulled the shirt that was hanging on your head off, causing your hair to frizz up slightly. Suppressing a chuckle, very badly, he extended a hand towards you._

_"I'm Joe, Woody's apprentice…"_

_"" You flatten your hair before taking his hand and hoisting yourself onto your feet. You glare after the boy who had been laughing at you, as he conveniently ran away. Lucky choice…_

_"?"_

_"Hn?"_

_"I asked if you needed help…"_

_"Oh! Sure…help would be great…"_

Joe was always very nice to you. Around lunch time, he would track you down, bringing along a broiled saury. You knew he caught it himself. He was an excellent fisher. Today you were done early, because you hadn't planted any crops yet, so you decided to stop by your house to freshen up.

You've just finished brushing down your hair, when you hear a loud banging on the door. "! Are you in there?!" You open the door to find Joe, out of breath, on your doorstep. He looks completely frantic.

"You didn't tell me you were going to be at your house!"

"I…thought you would know…"

"Well I didn't!" This was the first time you had heard him raise his voice at you. He had always been the happy-go-lucky kid, social with everyone. Now Joe had a look of worry in his eyes.

"I-I…didn't know…that you…" You started to stutter and your voice dropped to an almost inaudible level. You didn't know why, but the thought of Joe being angry at you brought tears to your eyes. When Joe saw this, he lost all the words he had.

"Hey…don't cry…I don't hate you…" He slowly untied the knot in his bandana, his brown hair falling to his shoulders. One of his arms wrapped around your waist comfortingly, the other held the bandana to catch the tears that fell from your eyes.

"I-I'm…s-sorry…this probably l-looks…really s-stupid…" You stammered after finding your voice again. He shook his head and looked down at you. The worry was still in his eyes.

"It's alright…You're not stupid…in fact…" His voice trailed off before he could finish. You looked up to try and meet his eyes, but he was looking away, a slight pink-ish hue crossing his face. What was he…trying to say?

"Joe…" His hair, while not in his bandana, fell to his face and over his eyes. He wouldn't face you as you said his name again. You thought you saw a small tear rolling down his face.

"I'm…sorry , I have to be getting back to work…" He let go of you and ran off quickly. You stood there, confused, with his red, white, and blue bandana still held lightly in your hand.

You woke up early as usual the next day. But, today was different. True, it was the day of the fireworks festival, but something else didn't feel right. The birds didn't sing their normal happy tune, and your dog lolled around by your bed. The most notable thing though…was the pain your heart was emitting.

It hurt so much; you didn't want to get up that day. You had to anyway, as someone was knocking on the door. Your heart jumped a little, you thought it would be Joe. He had always woken up early on festival days to pick you up. He always said, "To escort the loveliest farmer in Flower Bud."

You quickly threw on your clothes and tied your hair into a ponytail. The knocking on the door became more impatient. You were about to open it when you noticed a brightly colored cloth on your bed. Joe's bandana, you exclaimed in your head. He'd probably want it back. You picked it up and opened the door quickly.

There stood the blue-haired girl, Maria. She was the mayor's daughter and one of your closest friends. She looked down at the bandana in your hands and then back at your shocked face, half-concerned.

"Joe called me this morning and told me he wouldn't be able to come pick you up…" Maria explained.

"…why didn't he just tell me…?" Your heart ached so much as your hands clenched into fists, crumpling and twisting the fabric. Maria saw this with alarm.

"Don't worry ! He'll…be at the fireworks festival too! You can see him there…"

After a few minutes of reluctance, Maria was able to drag you down to Moonlight Beach, where the event was being held. It was just about time for the fireworks to start, and you hadn't seen any sign of Joe at all.

You had been going over in your head all the possibilities as to why your heartache was there. Everything pointed to one thing…

Joe had been your friend since you moved in…

He was always there for you…

He made you laugh and comforted you when you were crying…

And, overall, Joe was the person you always wanted to be around.

You loved him…

You looked around the perimeter one last time. There, he was sitting on a rock under the shade of a tree. His long brown hair was down, and his face was shielded in the darkness. His head was tilted upwards, like everyone else's, waiting for the spectacular explosions.

You chuckled slightly as you snuck up behind him. You took out his bandana and stretched it out between your two hands. You quietly reached over Joe's head and put the bandana around his eyes.

"What the?!" He laughed as he reached behind him, putting his hands on your side. You expected him to say something like ", what're you doing?" or "Don't sneak up on me, !" But, instead, he hoisted you over his head and through you to the ground.

"What the hey, Kurt? Drop a few pounds lately?" The bandana slipped down from his eyes and into his lap. He looked down onto the dark grass as a slight moan came out from you.

"Kurt, what's up? You've never gone down so easily…"

"I-I'm…not…Kurt…" Your voice was small and staggered as you tried to catch your breath again. You turned your head upwards, though it hurt you a little, to see Joe. He leaned away from you, but his head cocked over to his side, his eyes filled with worry.

"-?!"

"Wh-why…did you ditch me…this morning…without…telling me?"

"I…I didn't…want to…wake you." Joe stammered as he tried to come up with an excuse. You knew from his brother Kurt, he was terrible at this.

"You and I both know that's a lie…" You tried to sit up, but as soon as you put the slightest bit of pressure on your right hand, you collapsed. "Nng…"

Your wrist throbbed with pain as you lay there, Joe sitting over you. Tears sprang to your eyes as another shot of pain went through your arm. You gave out a small whimper and Joe dropped to his knees beside you.

"! A-Are you okay? Where does it hurt? I shouldn't have flipped you, I'm so sorry…"

"…it's…alright…Joe…" More pain in your arm and you whimpered even louder. All other sounds were drowned out as the fireworks began starting. You couldn't hear him, but Joe was talking to you. You could faintly see his image moving around, looking for something on the ground.

He finally came back, holding a rather straight stick. He picked up his bandana and sat next to you. The pain in your wrist was unbearable; any small twitch in a muscle sent a pang of hurt up your arm.

"This may hurt a little…" He tried as carefully as possible to pick up your arm. You gave out a small cry, and tears started to stream down your face. Joe hesitated slightly, before continuing to pick up your arm. "I know, , I know…"

He pressed the stick to your wrist and tied it tightly with his bandana. It hurt more than anything, as your quiet crying became rather loud sobbing. But still, the fireworks drowned out everything.

Slowly, Joe picked you up and set you down onto his lap. He carefully took your hand and set it down, resting your arm over your stomach. You 

made no protest as he rested his chin on top of your head and began to stroke your hair. His brown hair lightly tickled your shoulder and you began to calm down.

"Shh…there, there…we'll get it checked out tomorrow…It's alright ..." These were the last few things you heard, as you fell asleep. The noise of the fireworks was nothing compared to the sound of Joe's beating heart. You really did love him…did he love you?

Your eyes fluttered open as a ray of sunlight him them. You tried to roll over onto your side, but something was keeping your arm straight. You looked over to see that your right wrist had been splinted. It took you a few minutes to remember, your mind was fuzzy, but it came back. Joe had put your arm in a splint after accidentally throwing you over his shoulders.

You sat on your back and looked around. This wasn't your house. It looked like…

", you're awake!" You looked towards the familiar voice. Joe stood at the doorway, hair in a mess and clothes ruffled. Obviously he had just woken up. But of course he had just woken up, because one thing was amiss.

Joe wasn't exactly wearing a shirt.

A blush spread across your face and you nodded. Joe seemed to notice that your face was turning redder and got a little worried. " are you okay? Your face looks red; you didn't catch something did you?" You slowly shook your head. Finally Joe got it.

"Ah…I…you see…I was working and it's a real scorcher outside and I…kinda…" He stuttered while trying to explain himself.

In truth, you actually thought he looked pretty awesome without a shirt on. You wriggled around in the bed to sit yourself up. "It's okay…I understand…" Joe let out a sigh of relief and smiled. He walked over to you and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Sorry you had to wake up here…The doctor was closed for holiday and I didn't want to leave you in your house alone, but I also had to help Woody clean the shop. So, I…kinda brought you here…Ellen should come by soon to check your wrist…"

You only nodded; you couldn't find the exact words to say. You two sat there in silence for a few minutes, before you finally broke the silence. "Why did you ditch me yesterday?" His usually happy eyes misted over and he looked away from you.

"Nng…I was hoping you wouldn't ask that…" His voice sounded heavy and had a small squeak to it, like something was caught in his throat. He took a deep, but shaky, breath and turned back to face you. He opened his mouth to say something before letting out an exasperated groan. His fists clenched, bunching and wrinkling his dirt covered jeans, and he turned away from you again.

"It's complicated…"

"How can it be so complicated that you have to keep it a secret?"

"It just is…"

"You can tell me…I'm your friend…"

"That's just the problem!" His shout rang through the empty room. There were a few moments of silence before he let out another sigh. "I just…think that if I tell you, everything we have right now will be ruined…"

You didn't understand. You hoped it would be what you thought he would say. "What is it? Are you moving? Sick?"

"…sick…" You let out a small sigh yourself. You were half happy he didn't say he was moving, and half sad he didn't say he liked you. Oh well, maybe it was for the best…

"Sick with what, Joe? Cold? Appendicitis? What?"

Joe mumbled something unintelligible. His face started to turn a slightly reddened color. "What was that…?" You inquired.

"I said I'm…love…sick…" Half of you was jumping up and down with excitement and the other was crushed to bits.

On one hand, he could say he was in love with you. On the other, he could be in love with someone else. If he loved you and thought you didn't like him, it could possibly end your friendship. If he liked someone else, he might hang out with them more, leaving your friendship broken. Basically, you were torn.

"W-With…who?" Your voice was hardly louder than a whisper, dreading the answer to come. Joe was silent for a few minutes before he turned back to look at you.

"The loveliest girl in Flower Bud…"

Your heart skipped a beat for a second there. That is, until you remembered what he had always called you. 'The loveliest _farmer _in Flower Bud…' Had he said 'farmer'? No…no, he hadn't. Your heart cracked at that moment, sending an aching pain to your chest. But, nevertheless, you put on one of your brightest smiles you could bear.

"Who's the lucky girl? Gwen? Nina?" You could hear your voice crack slightly as you spoke. Joe looked at you a little shocked, before a small, sad smile came over his face.

"..."

"Y-Yes…?" You didn't know exactly how it happened but suddenly Joe had kissed you. One hand lay gently on your splinted one and the other was around your waist. He pulled you slightly to his, still bare, chest; as his lips pressed against yours in a passionate kiss.

And you melted into it completely.

After he backed away he smiled. "I'm love sick for you…" Tears sprang to your eyes. Joe looked concerned for a second, before you lightly lay your head against his chest. His hand that had been on yours now wrapped around you in a tight embrace.

One tear fell down your cheek as you smiled. "Good…I'm love sick for you too…"

And you two lived happily ever after and blah blah blah. You gained all the rest of the notes with Joe by your side and yea, yea, yea…The end.


End file.
